Celtic cross
1
7.0
- noun
- /ˈkɛltɪk krɔs/
:
cruz celta
- She wore a silver necklace featuring a Celtic cross, symbolizing her heritage.
Examples
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When you see a Celtic cross with its eight arms, its inner circles, think of the sun still imprinted in the barley cakes they handed to the men who went off to war with their sickles in their belts.
Fiction book (1996) -
He bore a dark tattoo of an elaborate Celtic cross on his pale, wiry forearm like a brand.
Fiction book (1998) -
From her purse, she took a talisman that looked somewhat like a Celtic cross.
Fiction book (2001) -
Maybe a Celtic cross.
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When she had it narrowed down to a smooth, shiny black stone with a Celtic cross on top and this plain, rough gray one.
Fiction book (1993) -
In the near distance, off the trailside, stands a Celtic cross—round head on a skirted body.
Fiction book (1999) -
She moved down through the aisle of graves and Celtic crosses, trying to take her mind off Gertie by reading the inscriptions on the gravestones.
Fiction book (1993) -
The grave was marked by a beautifully carved Celtic cross covered in intricate designs.
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During his visit to Ireland, he admired the ancient Celtic cross that stood in the middle of the churchyard.
Synonyms
293
4.0
A shape with a vertical piece and a horizontal piece used as a Christian sign
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'Celtic' (relating to Celtic culture) + 'cross' (the Christian symbol), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a type or style of cross associated with the Celts. Detailed formal features (the ring around the intersection) are cultural knowledge, but the basic meaning as a Celtic-style cross is transparently derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Celtic cross may come from early stone workers who put a ring around the middle of a cross to make the heavy stone arms stronger and to decorate it. The ring also looked like a 'sun' or a sign of 'life after death', so this ringed cross became the special symbol seen on monuments and jewelry today.